MEMORY AND MEMORY

IMPROVEMENT

8th Grade English

From a talk given by

Dennis Kelly, Ph.D., Neuropsychologist at the Washington
Traumatic Brain Injury Conference 2011
 Topics to be Covered
How does information get into memory?

Why do I forget things?

What are some general approaches to memory

rehabilitation?

What specifically can I do to improve my

memory?

GAMES!
 MEMORY STAGES
Encoding (Input)

Storage (Short-Term and Long-Term)

Retrieval (Output)

Memory failures can occur at any of these stages.

 TYPICAL MEMORY FLOW
Repetition
Improves
Retention
Long-Term
Memory System
Episodic
(Autobiographical)
Short-Term Semantic
Sensory Input Consolidation ( Facts & Knowledge)
Memory System
Procedural
(Motor & Skill-Based)

Temporary or Permanent
Permanent Loss due to
Loss due to Significant
Interference, Disuse,
Illness or Injury
or Neural Shock
 Short-Term vs. Long-Term Memory
STM : LTM :

Retained for a matter of Can be retained for years

minutes
Less susceptible to
Highly susceptible to interference
interference
Large storage capacity
Limited storage capacity
People often report problems with memory that
actually are due to other things, such as:

Sensory limitations
Sleep disturbance
Not paying attention
Physical pain
Emotional distress
Drug and/or medication effects
 IF THE PREVIOUS OBSTACLES
ARE REDUCED, YOUR MEMORY
WILL IMPROVE.
 Memory is Not Perfect
Things We Normally Forget

Percent of people who experience each of the following even

though they didnt have a head injury:

Forget telephone numbers 58%

Forget peoples names 48%
Forget where car was parked 32%
Lose car keys 31%
Forget groceries 28%
Forget why they entered a room 27%
Forget directions 24%
Forget appointment dates 20%
Lose wallet or pocketbook 17%
Forget content of daily conversations 17%
Has This Happened to You?
 MEMORY IMPROVEMENT
Its not necessary to remember everything
There are advantages to forgetting
Prioritize Focus on what you need to
remember and for what purpose. Decide
which things:
Need your immediate attention
Can be put on the back burner for later
Can simply be deleted (like junk mail)
GENERAL MEMORY IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES

Reduce the obstacles mentioned previously

Use Repetition
Use Repetition
Be physically organized (e.g., use bookmarks,
filing systems; keep important things in a
predictable place)
Use External memory aids (e.g., cell phones,
lists, sticky notes, alarms, Day Timer, pill
organizers, other people)
More is Not Always Better
GENERAL MEMORY IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES

Internal memory aids make things personally

meaningful, and link them with what you already
know active approach to improving memory.
Some examples:

Chunking
First Letter Cueing
Imagery
Mental Organization
 CHUNKING
Short-term memory typically can retain between
5 & 9 chunks

Chunk = a meaningful unit of information

can be small or relatively large

Group material into segments that are easier to

remember
 CHUNKING
The boy in the red shirt kicked his brother in the shin.
Contains 12 words & 43 letters
Easier to remember if we reduce it to 3 chunks
The boy in the red shirt
kicked his brother
in the shin.

2 5 3 9 6 8 0 6 0 6
Contains 10 digits
Easier to remember if we reduce it to 3 chunks
(253) 968- 0606
 FIRST LETTER CUEING
Good for remembering sequences

ROY G BIV = ROY G BIV colors of the

spectrum

Fire Extinguisher P A S S
Pull pin; Aim hose; Squeeze handle; Sweep from
side to side

Grocery Items:
Chicken + Basil + Shrimp = CBS
 IMAGERY
Method of Loci -- visual imagery method using place with which
you are familiar to attach things to remember e.g., remembering
shopping list by walking through your house
 MENTAL ORGANIZATION

Planning

Outlining

Using categories and subcategories

 Take-Home Points

Memory is not perfect but it can be improved

Dont waste time on things that dont need to be
remembered
Work your brain (but not too much)
If obstacles to memory are reduced, your memory
will improve
Try to get information from short-term memory
into long-term memory
Try to link new learning to old learning
 Memory Game
The saying that elephants never forget is a
fact. Can we say the same thing for you?

See if you can build up memory over a few

seconds or minutes and hold on to it. In this game
you are presented with a grid of 25 words for 60
seconds that you will have to memorize. Then,
you will be asked to recognize these same words
from a longer list that also contains other
distractor words.
http://braingames1.aarp.org/elephant_memory.
html